


the inhuman steeps of space

by peppermintquartz



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), The Path (TV)
Genre: Character Death, Crisis of Faith, Crossover, Kaecilius has thoughts, Other, not sure if it'll be shippy or not, probably death, some original characters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-10
Updated: 2016-11-10
Packaged: 2018-08-30 05:28:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8520250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peppermintquartz/pseuds/peppermintquartz
Summary: Kaecilius lost his faith but helped Cal Roberts find his.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from _The Ballad of the White Horse_ , by G K Chesterton.

It had been anything but easy for Kaecilius to accept that his path no longer followed that of his teacher.

He sought for an explanation, but there had been none, outside of the truth: the Ancient One betrayed everything she inculcated in her followers. Her way was not the natural way. She knew how to draw life from the wellspring of eternity, and hoarded it to herself instead of sharing her trove.

_Hypocrite._

Kaecilius thought of his family. His loss. His life, given to his studies after his life in the world ended.

His time, devoted to the lessons from the Ancient _Liar_.

*****

Lately, his musings took him to the New York Sanctum, where he strolled through the halls looking at the artefacts and wonders accumulated through the centuries. Little trinkets stored with earthshattering power to be used by the worthy. The Ancient One had asked him to choose between New York and London, and more fool he for opting for neither, but to stay and learn in Kamar-Taj.

Kaecilius wondered if he had worth in himself, or if he had always been intended to be used by the Ancient One. A useful tool. Of value only in the things he brought to her.

The french doors were where he spent most of his time. Looking out at the world, into the deep scorching heat of the Sahara, the endless roar of the Pacific, and the permanent dense silence of the rainforest, Kaecilius sought direction.

*****

He found it the day the Avengers disbanded.

What the humans saw and knew were petty and temporary. The Sokovia Accords were insisted on because people were afraid of being killed in battle. The Avengers fought because some of them felt that normal humans would turn against them over time when resentment mounted, while the other side thought that the other party's intention would destroy all that they had built and cause even more deaths.

Well then.

Death was the enemy. Time was the enemy.

Both were foes that Kaecilius had fought and failed to defeat. Both were foes no human had defeated... except for one.

But the Ancient One had beaten both, with assistance from the Dark Dimension.

Well then.

*****

He returned to Kamar-Taj. He spoke with those he trusted.

Some of the other disciples listened. Some did not.

Those who listened were heartbroken, but more importantly, they put their faith in him.

Kaecilius knew he had little time. Before further alarm could be raised, he took action, and the librarian's head. He did it quickly and with as much honor as he could offer, to spare the man suffering. They had been friends, of a sort, and Kaecilius was not out to torment. He was out to save humanity from its enemies, as the masters of the mystic arts had been sworn to do.

He found the book, but already he knew the Ancient One was aware of his decision.

Was it treason to betray a traitor? Kaecilius chose, and ripped the pages from the tome.

Then he and his new followers, his zealots, fled to London. It was time to begin saving the world from its crippling fear.

*****

The battle was short but brutal. Kaecilius' portal had taken them to upstate New York, into the woods, and there they licked their wounds and recuperated. Kaecilius had been half-certain that the Ancient One would come after him, but she hadn't.

 _Arrogance in her superiority will be her downfall,_ he thought as he meditated in the mirror dimension with his zealots, seeking balance in himself, for he was devastated to have lost friends and followers in the fight. He would not waver now. He owed it to them.

Then he heard the sound of a person, dragging something heavy. Outside, in the real world, a man with close-cropped hair breathed heavily as he dug a hole. He dug down, deep, deeper than he would need for anything other than a burial of a body.

Kaecilius watched the man heave the dead person inside. To his surprise, the man was crying as he covered the corpse up again. At the end, the man knelt, tears streaking down his face, and murmured repeatedly, “I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I'm sorry.”

One of the survivors, Gojo, came up to Kaecilius and watched the kneeling man. “He murdered that person he just buried.”

“It was an act of passion,” said Kaecilius. “Death comes slowly and swiftly as it pleases. But its tyranny ends when our task is fulfilled.”

Gojo inclined his head. “Master Kaecilius, should we return to London?”

“Not yet. She will have alerted the sanctum's master by now. We will stay here until we are certain of our success.”

“Here?”

“It is a quiet and deserted forest, else he wouldn't have chosen to bury the body here, and there must be shelter and sustenance close by, for he carried and dragged the corpse to this spot and I didn't hear a vehicle. It will suffice for now. Come, Gojo, we will bring food and water back for the others. Kimberly, keep watch. Flee if the hypocrite comes, do not tarry to fight. You are not strong enough for her yet.”

*****

They came upon what seemed like a gated commune. Gojo was clever and loyal, so Kaecilius told him to return to the group once he had supplies; Kaecilius intended to explore.

He knew that in each of these homes, families slumbered. Most would be at peace, but there would be at least one man too troubled for sleep. Strolling along, he saw the dark windows, some with the regular flicker of a night-light, and again grieved for his loss.

 _Eternity would mean living with this pain forever,_ he thought. But this way, they would never be forgotten.

He could not save them. He had failed them.

But he would save countless others, save them from the grief of death, of time, save them from the uncaring universe. _This_ uncaring universe.

The house at the end of the road was set apart, and even at this late hour, a light was still on in the back. Kaecilius entered the house and went to the room that was lit.

It was that man with the close-cropped hair.

He stood in front of a carving of a stylized eye hung on the wall, his jaw set, his eyes pleading. His hands were clenched at his sides, trembling ever so slightly.

Kaecilius had seen that look before. He had seen it in the mirror, before he was accepted to Kamar-Taj.

After he had discovered the Ancient One's lies.

_An eye. Like what I've left behind, in Kamar-Taj. An eye for an eye indeed._

The man blinked and went on his knees, then touched his brow to the ground. Not in an act of prayer, but to wrap his arms about his face as he began to sob.

“Why,” he wept, voice rough and broken, “why can't I have this? The one thing, _the one thing that I need,_ and yet... if I have it, I could lead them so far. I could lead them _so far,_ and I'd know it's the right way. I just need something _._ Give me something to believe in, please. _Please._ Something. _Anything._ ”

Kaecilius listened, thought, and decided. He pulled on his sling ring and shattered the mirror dimension, stepping forward. He drew his power about him like a cloak.

Startled, the man looked up, tearful eyes widening as he scrambled away from Kaecilius.

“Ask, and you shall receive,” Kaecilius said quietly. “I have what you seek.”

“Wh-How did you get in here? Who are you? _What do you want?”_

Kaecilius raised a hand and called up a simple spell. A glowing circle appeared, and then folded itself into the shape of a lotus bud. Runes flickered and shimmered. He placed the unopened flower in front of the man.

“I got in here through magic. My name is Kaecilius.” He paused, then opened the flower to reveal a glimpse of the universe in its heart. “I want your faith.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know when I can update this next but I'll try not to drag it out too long :)


End file.
